Draymond Green hasn’t been suspended for fighting this season, but plenty of other players have.
Draymond Green is the ultimate NBA “bad boy” of the 2010s and 2020s. He doesn’t mind doing the dirty work and playing physical basketball, although his emotions have been known to get the best of him.
Last season, he was suspended seven games for choking Rudy Gobert and an additional 12 for punching Jusuf Nurkic. When it was announced that Green would be suspended indefinitely by the Golden State Warriors, Nurkic remarked that he hoped Green would get “the help that he needs.”
So far this season, Green hasn’t shied away from barking at opponents and officials, but he seems to be under control, which is why he felt like he could poke fun at two recent fights.
In recent weeks, the Houston Rockets and Miami Heat got into an altercation, as did the Dallas Mavericks and Phoenix Suns. The fights, coincidentally, came days after Boston Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla joked that if punches were thrown, fans might tune in amid a decrease in TV viewership.
“Joe Mazzulla got what he wanted a couple weeks ago,” joked Green on his self-titled podcast. “He said we need to start fighting in the NBA. Amen Thompson got into it with Tyler Herro. Nurkic got into it with Naji Marshall.”
After the Suns and Mavericks fight, Nurkic, Marshall, and PJ Washington were all suspended for shoving, punching, and instigating.
When the Mavericks and Suns got into it in the second half of their game, Green was quick to point out that the Warriors were next on the Suns’ schedule. Phoenix would go on to lose to Dallas, marking their fourth loss in five games, and Nurkic was suspended for the matchup against the Warriors.
Golden State would win, 109-105, and Green had an excellent game, scoring 16 points to go with eight rebounds and seven assists.
“They were about to play us the next day,” Green said, speculating that Nurkic didn’t want to have to play against the Warriors.
“And he just out of nowhere picked an argument and then swung. And I hope that brother got the help he needs.”
The Suns and Warriors won’t play again until Jan. 31. Nurkic has received multiple DNPs in recent games, so there is a chance he will miss that contest, as well.
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